


a better ghost than me

by crucify (victimsoul)



Series: death to death [2]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, First Dates, Fluff, Getting Together, Ghost!Jonathan Sims, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, do they both know its a first date? i'm not even sure. but it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23163976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/victimsoul/pseuds/crucify
Summary: Jon looked him in the eyes for an uncomfortably drawn out moment before answering. “You were staring.”Martin seemed lost for words. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before retorting unconvincingly, “Yeah, we were watching a movie.”“No, not at the T.V., Martin. At me. Why?”Martin looked at his hands for a moment, before looking back up to Jon “Well, I was just thinking, um…” Martin looked back down to his hands, speaking the words quickly, “I-was-wondering-if-you-wanted-to-get-coffee-with-me?”Martin invites Jon out for coffee. It doesn't exactly go as planned.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: death to death [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660273
Comments: 13
Kudos: 179





	a better ghost than me

**Author's Note:**

> this is a spinoff/sequel to here to haunt me. you can read this without reading hthm if you want but i'm not sure how much sense it will make... honestly you should probably read hthm first.

Jon wanted to focus on the movie. Now that he and Georgie had human friends, they could partake in the joys of technology in the comfort of their home instead of abusing their ghost powers to sneak into movies. Jon wanted to make the most of it. So, he had requested Martin set up a T.V. in the house and come over to operate it for him. However, Martin seemed to be spending much more time watching Jon’s face than watching the movie and it was wildly distracting. Eventually, feeling Martin’s gaze became too much and Jon picked up the remote and pressed a button, instantly turning the television screen to static. Of course, he could just ask Martin to pause the show, but Jon felt his way was easier.

Martin jumped at the sound of static. “What? Why would you do that?” He asked.

Jon looked him in the eyes for an uncomfortably drawn out moment before answering. “You were staring.”

Martin seemed lost for words. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before retorting unconvincingly, “Yeah, we were watching a movie.”

“No, not at the T.V., Martin. At me. Why?” 

Martin looked at his hands for a moment, before looking back up to Jon “Well, I was just thinking, um…” Martin looked back down to his hands, speaking the words quickly, “I-was-wondering-if-you-wanted-to-get-coffee-with-me?”

Jon drew his eyebrows together at that, and Martin spoke again before Jon could reply. “You’re right, I’m sorry, of course you don’t, forget I said anyth-”

“Why do you want coffee at this hour? You won’t be able to sleep.”

“I’ll just leave now, I’m sorry for bothering you- What?” Martin continued as though Jon hadn’t said anything before he finally processed Jon’s words. “I didn’t… Not right now, Jon,” Martin laughed nervously

“But you asked now, and you were thinking about asking the whole movie. When else would you mean?”

“I just meant… At some point?”

Jon’s brows furrowed further. “Then why do you want me to come with you if you just want coffee at some indeterminate point in the future? I can’t stand the taste. You surely have better options.”

“Well, Georgie and Melanie are out right now, I just thought you might like to go out as well.”

“I don’t understand why Georgie insists on eating and drinking, It’s not like it does anything for us. Silly thing to risk going out for.”

“Risk? What do you mean?”

“I’m pretty sure we’ll pass on if we leave this place for too long.”

“What?” Martin stood up and moved to put his jacket on. “Does Melanie know this? We have to go get Georgie!” He started walking towards the door. Jon grabbed him by the back of his jacket as he passed back in front of the couch.

“Calm down, Georgie knows the risk. We can leave for a few hours at least. We’ve never tried more than that, but it’s a decent amount of time.”

Martin sat back down but didn’t remove his jacket. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well.”

“Yeah.”

“So, would you like to…”

“Yeah.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Well I don’t know Martin, let me check my schedule.”

Martin frowned at his sarcasm and Jon relented. “Yes, tomorrow sounds wonderful. Now, shall we get back to the movie?”

Martin smiled and relaxed into the sofa, taking the remote from Jon to effectively unpause the movie.

* * *

Melanie and Georgie were lounging on the bed as Jon paced the room, contemplating Martin’s earlier request. He was nervous. He hadn’t gone anywhere with anyone other than Georgie in decades, and he had no idea what to expect. There were far too many variables and risks to consider, and he had had a tendency to get overwhelmed by large groups of people even when he was alive. What if Jon accidentally broke some important piece of technology? What if he couldn’t hold his human form together? ...What if Martin didn’t enjoy his company?

Melanie threw a piece of popcorn at Jon before he had time to dodge it, and it hit him in the chest. “Stop pacing, I’m trying to watch this movie.”

Georgie sighed and put her book down. “Alright, I’ll bite. What’s wrong, Jon?”

“Martin asked me to get coffee with him tomorrow like you and Melanie.”

“He asked you, a ghost, to get coffee? And he specifically said like me and Melanie tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“He was asking you on a date, you dipshit.”

Jon rolled his eyes at Melanie as she chimed in. “I think I’d know if Martin was asking me on a date, thank you very much. 

Georgie spoke, “He really was- You know what? Nevermind. But seriously, stop pacing. You’ll be fine! I know you can handle it. As long as you can hold yourself together you’ll be fine.”

“And if you can’t, tell Martin to record it. We need some good footage for Ghost Hunt U.K.”

Jon glared, despite knowing she was joking. “Why are you still here, anyways? ...And when did you change your clothes?”

Melanie and Georgie made eye contact for a moment until Melanie began snickering. Melanie’s laughter set Georgie off until they were both having laughing fits at Jon’s expense. At their refusal to elaborate, Jon left the room in a huff.

* * *

The next morning, they walked to the coffee shop. It was a quaint place, but crowded due to it being morning. Jon started to sweat at the amount of people packed into the small cafe and Martin squeezed his hand, giving him a reassuring smile. Jon smiled back, able to forget the crowd when looking in Martin’s eyes. 

They got in line and moved forward slowly, but Jon didn’t mind. Being a barista was hard enough without customers rushing them. Jon knew that from a short stint as a barista in college; a stint that ended when Jon couldn’t handle the pressure anymore. Jon quit his musing as they got to the front of the line as Martin let go of his hand to pull out some money. 

He turned to Jon. “What do you want?”

“Oh. Um… A small green tea?” 

Martin nodded and repeated his order to the barista. Jon reflexively tried to pull out some money to pay for his own drink, before he remembered he didn’t have any. Martin handed over enough cash for his sandwich and Jon’s drink plus a little extra, which he put in the tip jar when he got the change back. Jon surveyed the cafe for a seat and luckily found a small table for two, which he grabbed while Martin paid. Martin came over and joined him, giving him a gentle smile as they made eye contact.

Then Jon didn’t know what to do. What was there to talk about these days? It’s not like Jon had any idea about current events or pop culture. He suspected Martin was at a similar loss for words, as neither of them spoke once they sat down. The barista called out “Green tea for… Martin?” and Martin retreated to grab Jon’s drink. This gave Jon a few blessed moments to try to remember what people talked about when they grabbed coffee. 

When Martin got back, he handed Jon the tea, and Jon had an idea of what to talk about. The only thing he knew about Martin was his job and the fact that he liked horror movies, so he figured he’d start with one of those.

“How long have you been… You know… A ghost hunter?” Jon rolled his eyes at the title.

Martin started at the question, apparently lost in thought, presumably trying to think of his own way to start the conversation. Once he remembered where he was he relaxed and answered, “Oh, only a few months. Melanie was a friend from high school, and she offered me the job when her old cameraman quit. I really don’t know anything about cameras, but I get the sense she didn’t have many other people to ask. I’m just happy to have a job.” 

Jon made a face at the mention of Melanie, and Martin bristled slightly, but he let it go. Jon didn’t notice Martin’s momentary annoyance, as he spoke up again. “I don’t know why people insist on hunting ghosts on camera. Do you have any idea how many ghost hunters Georgie and I have had to scare off? It’s quite inconvenient And I know Georgie likes Melanie, but the woman is really quite rude. I don’t know what she sees in her.”

“The same thing she sees in you, evidently,” Martin muttered under his breath, defensive of his long-time friend. Jon seemingly didn’t hear the comment.

It was Martin’s turn to try to start the conversation. “So, uh, how do you feel about… the weather?” he tried.

Jon stared at him, then looked down to take a sip of his drink. “I don’t know. I didn’t notice.”

“Well, it was, uh… Sunny.”

“Oh. That’s nice.” Jon didn’t know what else to say.

After ten more minutes of awkward and strained small talk, Martin looked over to the counter where his order should be.

“Huh. I wonder where my sandwich is.”

“I’ll look.” Jon closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he was looking through the eyes of the employee who was making Martin’s sandwich. It looked like he was just taking the bread out of the toaster, meaning it would be out soon.

“Jon!” Martin hissed across the table. Jon flickered back into view.

“What?”

“You can’t just do that in public!”

Jon realized people around him were whispering. 

“Wait, did he just-”

“Oh my God.”

“Did you see that?”

Jon slunk down into his seat, trying to make himself invisible without _actually_ making himself invisible. It was harder than he thought to hold back from reverting to one of his inhuman forms when under stress. Martin was trying to get his attention but Jon couldn’t even think straight under the pressure of holding his normal form together. 

He decided it was better to run away to recover his composure outside in lieu of embarrassing Martin further. He abruptly stood up, his chair scraping the floor as it was pushed backwards, and fled out the side door of the coffee shop and into the adjacent alley. Once he checked for any bystanders who might see him, he collapsed to his knees, dropping the normal facade of his human appearance. He took deep breaths to calm himself down. And then he heard a gasp from the doorway he came from.

“Jon?!”

Jon turned to the noise but was unable to look with empty bleeding eye sockets. Martin took one look at him and turned around to throw up on the ground of the alleyway and Jon cringed. It was to be expected, but it hurt that his new ...friend? could only vomit in the face of seeing Jon’s true form. 

But then, instead of running away, Martin ran over and dropped to his knees next to Jon, reaching for his face. “Who did this to you? What happened? Oh God, I’m calling 999.”

Jon bit back a laugh. “Still a ghost, Martin.” He took a few more deep breaths until he had the composure to hold together his human appearance again. Martin opened his mouth, about to ask a thousand more questions, when Jon collapsed forward in exhaustion, leaning on Martin’s shoulder. Martin stiffened, at a loss for what to do. Thankfully, after a moment Jon sat back up. 

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Martin brushed his hair back. “It’s okay. Let’s go home.”

“You didn’t get your sandwich,” Jon stated.

It was Martin’s turn to laugh at that. “I don’t care about a sandwich, Jon, I want to make sure you’re okay. Do you want to go home?”

Jon thought for a second, then nodded sheepishly.

“Do you need more time before we walk back?”

Jon shook his head and stood up, dusting himself off. He held out a hand to help Martin up, who took it. They walked back out of the alleyway, careful to avoid the view of the people still inside the cafe.

* * *

Jon was feeling better by the time they got home. It was easier to relax when the only person perceiving him had already seen his true form. Georgie and Melanie were not there, and Martin started brewing some tea in the house’s sparse kitchen. He didn’t know much about comforting people, but he knew a warm cup of tea always made him feel better. When it was ready, he brought it upstairs to Jon, who was huddled under a blanket sitting up on his bed. Martin handed him the tea and he took it gratefully, content to feel its warmth through his cold being.

Martin sat on the bed next to him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jon thought for a moment. “Sure,” he answered. Martin sat patiently and leaned his head on Jon’s shoulder, waiting for him to start.

“I should probably start with… The way I looked. You could probably guess, but that’s how I looked when I… died. If I don’t consciously manifest differently, that’s what I look like. I can control how I manifest other than that, but it takes a lot of concentration. It’s another reason Georgie and I don’t go out for long periods of time.”

Martin nodded against Jon’s shoulder. He had figured, but it was nice that Jon was willing to tell him about it. He laced their fingers together

Jon continued, looking straight ahead instead of at the head on his shoulder or at the hand in his hand, “I get… overstimulated. In crowds. It’s not a new thing, I was like this before I died. But now it makes me lose focus and I risk dropping my human form. I should have told you before, but I thought going out for coffee was simple enough I could get through it. I’m sorry for making a scene.”

Martin sat up and turned to look Jon in the eyes. “Don’t apologize. I get it. I’m bad with crowds too.” He raised the hand not intertwined with Jon’s to push a strand of Jon’s long hair behind his ear. “I should have asked what you wanted to do first. Maybe we could go somewhere less intense next time, like to watch a movie?”

Jon thought about what Melanie said earlier when Jon had described Martin’s request and the events of the last few hours and his eyes widened. “You want to see me again?”

Martin chuckled softly and gave Jon a gentle smile. “Of course I do, Jon.”

Jon broke into a wide smile and pulled Martin in for a hug. Martin wanted to see him again, and everything was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I am once again asking for you to leave comments.


End file.
